California strawberry growers produced more pounds of fruit on 2,000 less acres in 2018 versus 2017. Fresh market pounds were up significantly in 2018. The only category to run short was juice grade. The freezer and juice grade categories came in close to the previous year which allowed for the excess inventory in the industry to be worked down. California currently has 1,700 less acres this year than last year, so total production should be limited, but higher producing varieties could offset this somewhat as well.
